Effectiveness of Maternal Oral Glucose Intake in Improving Blood Glucose Levels in Hypoglycemic Neonates; A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Neonatal hypoglycemia, a common metabolic condition requiring prompt recognition, timely intervention, and careful monitoring to prevent adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, can be effectively treated with glucose intake through breast milk, a simple and cost-effective approach. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of oral glucose intake by nursing mothers in increasing blood glucose levels in hypoglycemic newborns.

Methods: A parallel-group randomized control trial was conducted from July to August 2023 with 60 postnatal mothers and their newborns admitted to a government hospital in Punjab, India. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group using the concealed envelope method. Mothers in the experimental group received 35 g of oral glucose mixed with 200 ml of water once daily, whereas those in the control group received standard treatment. The outcome was assessed by measuring newborns' random blood glucose levels six hours post-intervention. The outcome assessors were blinded to the interventions. The study adhered to CONSORT guidelines, and statistical analysis was performed using mean, median, frequency, percentage, Chi-square, One-way ANOVA, and t-test.

Results: The post-intervention mean ± SD random blood glucose levels were 61.77 ± 7.238 in the experimental group and 53.80 ± 5.081 in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference (p ≤0.001).

Discussion: The results align with emerging evidence on maternal dietary influence on breast milk composition and neonatal health. However, limitations such as the small sample size and short-term outcome assessment necessitate further research to confirm and expand upon these findings.

Conclusion: Oral glucose intake by lactating mothers significantly increased newborn blood glucose levels, demonstrating its effectiveness as a simple, noninvasive, and cost-effective intervention for neonatal hypoglycemia.

Clinical trial registration number: CTRI -REF/2023/05/066900.